Old/New Testament
Jerusalem Is Surrounded
6 “Run for your lives, people of Benjamin!
Run away from Jerusalem!
Blow the war trumpet in the town of Tekoa!
Raise the warning flag over the town of Beth Hakkerem!
Disaster is coming from the north.
Terrible destruction is coming to you.
2 Jerusalem, I will destroy you.
You are fragile and gentle.
3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against Jerusalem.
They will set up their tents all around her.
Each shepherd will take care of his own section.”
4 They say, “Get ready to fight against Jerusalem!
Get up! We will attack at noon!
But it is already getting late.
The evening shadows are growing long.
5 So get up! We will attack at night.
We will destroy the strong towers of Jerusalem!”
6 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“Cut down the trees around Jerusalem.
Build an attack ramp to the top of Jerusalem’s walls.
This city must be punished!
Inside this city is nothing but slavery.
7 Jerusalem pours out her evil
as a well pours out its water.
The sounds of violence and destruction are heard within her.
I can see the sickness and hurts of Jerusalem.
8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem.
If you don’t listen, I will turn my back on you.
I will make your land an empty desert.
No one will be able to live there!”
9 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“Gather the few people of Israel who are left alive.
Gather them as you would the last grapes on a grapevine.
Check each vine again,
like someone who gathers grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak? Whom can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
The people of Israel have closed ears!
So they cannot hear my warnings.
They don’t like the word of the Lord.
They don’t want to listen to it!
11 But I am full of the anger of the Lord.
I am tired of holding it in.
“Pour out the Lord’s anger on the children who play in the street.
Pour it out on the young men gathered together.
A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger.
The very old people will be caught in it.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others.
Their fields and wives will be given away.
I will raise my hand
and punish the people of Judah,” says the Lord.
13 “Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
14 They try to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They say, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right!’
But really, it is not all right.
15 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand where the roads cross and look.
Ask where the old way is.
Ask where the good way is, and walk on it.
If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.
But you have said, ‘We will not walk on the good way!’
17 I chose watchmen to watch over you.
I told you, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 So listen, all you nations.
Pay attention, you witnesses.
Watch what I will do to the people of Judah.
19 Hear this, people of the earth:
I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah!
It will happen because of the evil they plan.
They have not listened to my messages.
They have rejected my teachings.
20 Why do you bring me offerings of incense from the land of Sheba?
Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway land?
Your burnt offerings will not be accepted.
Your sacrifices do not please me.”
21 So this is what the Lord says:
“I will put problems in front of Judah.
Fathers and sons will stumble over them.
Neighbors and friends will die.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north.
A great nation is coming
from the far sides of the earth.
23 The soldiers carry bows and spears.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring ocean
when they ride their horses.
That army is coming lined up for battle.
It is coming to attack you, Jerusalem.”
24 We have heard the news about that army.
We are helpless from fear.
We feel trapped by our troubles.
We are in pain like a woman having a baby.
25 Don’t go out into the fields.
Don’t walk down the roads!
This is because the enemy has swords.
There is terror on every side.
26 My people, put on rough cloth
and roll in the ashes to show how sad you are.
Cry loudly for those who are dead.
Cry as if your only son had died.
Do it because the destroyer
will soon come against us.
27 “Jeremiah, I have made you like a worker who tests metal.
And my people are like the ore for the metal.
You must observe their ways.
And you must test them.
28 My people have turned against me and are stubborn.
They go around telling lies about people.
They are like bronze and iron,
that became covered with rust.
29 The fire is fanned to make it hotter.
But the lead does not melt.
The pure silver does not come out.
And the evil is not removed from my people.
30 My people will be called rejected silver.
They will be given that name because the Lord has rejected them.”
Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon
7 This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Temple. Preach this message there:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of the nation of Judah! All you who come through these gates to worship the Lord, listen to this message! 3 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do what is right! If you do, I will let you live in this place. 4 Don’t trust the lies that some people say! They say, “This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord!” 5 You must change your lives and do what is right. You must be fair to each other. 6 You must not be hard on the strangers, the orphans and widows. Don’t kill innocent people in this place! Don’t follow other gods, or they will ruin your lives. 7 If you do these things, I will let you live in this land. This is the land I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
8 “‘But look! You are trusting lies. Such trust is useless. 9 Will you steal and murder? Will you be guilty of adultery? Will you falsely accuse other people? Will you worship the false god Baal? And will you follow other gods you have not known? 10 If you do that, do you think you can come before me? Can you stand in this place where I have chosen to be worshiped? Do you think you can say, “We are safe!” Are you safe to do all these hated things? 11 This is the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. Is it nothing more to you than a hideout for robbers? I have been watching you, says the Lord!
12 “‘You people of Judah, go now to the town of Shiloh. It was there that I first made a place to be worshiped. Go there and see what I did because of the evil things they had done. 13 You people of Israel were doing all these evil things, says the Lord. I spoke to you again and again. But you did not listen to me. I called you, but you did not answer. 14 So I will destroy the place where I have chosen to be worshiped in Jerusalem. You trust in that place. I gave it to you and your ancestors. But I will destroy it just as I destroyed Shiloh. 15 I will push you away from me. I will do it just as I pushed away your brothers, the people of Israel!’
16 “As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people. Don’t cry out for them or ask anything for them. Don’t beg me to help them. I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah? Don’t you see what they are doing in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 This is what the people of Judah are doing: The children gather wood. The fathers use the wood to make a fire. The women make the dough for cakes of bread. And they offer them to the Queen Goddess. They pour out drink offerings to worship other gods. They do this to make me angry. 19 But I am not the one the people of Judah are really hurting, says the Lord. They are only hurting themselves. They are bringing shame upon themselves.
20 “‘So this is what the Lord says: I will pour out my anger on this place. I will pour it out on man and animal. I will pour out my anger on the trees in the field. And I will pour it out on the crops in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire. And no one will be able to put it out.
Obedience Is More than Sacrifice
21 “‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and offer as many burnt offerings and sacrifices as you want! Eat the meat of those sacrifices yourselves! 22 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt. I spoke to them. But I did not give them commands only about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Do all that I command, and good things will happen to you. 24 But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me. They were stubborn and did whatever their evil hearts wanted. They went backward, not forward. 25 Since the day your ancestors left Egypt, I have sent you my servants, the prophets. I sent them to you again and again. 26 But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me. They were very stubborn. And they did more evil than their ancestors.’
27 “Jeremiah, you will tell these things to the people of Judah. But they will not listen to you! You will call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 So say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God. These people do nothing when I correct them. They do not tell the truth. It has disappeared from their lips.
The Valley of Killing
29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away. Go up to the bare hilltop and cry. Do it because I, the Lord, have rejected these people. I have turned my back on them. And in my anger I will punish them! 30 The people of Judah have done what I said was evil, says the Lord. They have set up their hated idols in the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. They have made it unclean! 31 The people of Judah have built places of worship at Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There the people offered their own sons and daughters as sacrifices. This is something I never commanded. It never even entered my mind! 32 So, I warn you. The days are coming, says the Lord, when people will not call this place Topheth. They will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom anymore. They will call it the Valley of Killing. They will bury dead people in Topheth until there is no room to bury anyone else! 33 Then the bodies of the dead will lie on top of the ground. They will become food for the birds of the sky. Wild animals will eat the bodies. There will be no one left alive to chase the birds or animals away. 34 I will end the happy sounds of the bride and bridegroom. There will be no happy sounds in Judah or in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become an empty desert!
8 “‘The Lord says: At that time the bones will be removed from the tombs. The bones of Judah’s kings and officers, priests and prophets and the people of Jerusalem will be removed. 2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon and stars the people loved and served. They went after these gods, searched them out and worshiped them. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung thrown on the ground. 3 I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were dead, says the Lord.’
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says:
When a man falls down, doesn’t he get up again?
And when a man goes the wrong way, doesn’t he come back again?
5 Why, then, have the people of Judah gone the wrong way?
And why do the people of Jerusalem not turn back?
They believe their own lies.
They refuse to turn around and come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully.
But they do not say what is right.
They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways.
The people don’t think about the bad things they have done.
Each person goes his own way.
He is like a horse charging into a battle.
7 Even the birds in the sky
know the right times to do things.
The storks, doves, swifts and thrushes
know when it is time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
what the Lord wants them to do!
8 “‘You keep saying, “We are wise.
This is because we have the teachings of the Lord.”
But actually, those who copy the Scriptures
have written lies with their pens.
9 These wise men refused to listen to the word of the Lord.
So they are not really wise at all.
They will be ashamed.
They will be shocked and trapped.
10 So I will give their wives to other men.
I will give their fields to new owners.
Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
11 They try to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They say, “It’s all right, it’s all right!”
But really, it is not all right.
12 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them, says the Lord.
13 “‘I will take away their crops, says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will dry up and die.
I will take away what I gave them!’”
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s get together!
We have sinned against the Lord.
So he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s run to the strong, walled cities.
The Lord our God has decided that we must die.
So let’s die there.
15 We hoped to have peace.
But nothing good has come.
We hoped for a time when he would heal us.
But only disaster has come!
16 From the land of the tribe of Dan,
the snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard.
The ground shakes from the neighing of their large horses.
They have come to destroy
the land and everything in it.
They have come to destroy
the city and all the people who live there.”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes to attack you.
These snakes cannot be charmed.
They will bite you,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Sadness
18 God, you are my comfort when I am very sad.
You are my comfort when I’m afraid.
19 Listen to my people!
They are crying for help from a faraway land.
They say, “Is the Lord still in Jerusalem?
Is Jerusalem’s king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols?
They worshiped their useless foreign idols.”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over.
Summer has ended.
And we have not been saved.”
21 My people are crushed. So I am crushed.
I cry loudly, and I am afraid for them.
22 Surely there is a balm in the land of Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor there.
So why aren’t the hurts of my people healed?
Rules for Living with Others
5 Do not speak angrily to an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers. 2 Treat older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters. Always treat them in a pure way.
3 Take care of widows who are all alone. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, the first thing they need to learn is to do their duty to their own family. When they do this, they will be repaying their parents or grandparents. That pleases God. 5 If a widow is all alone and without help, then she puts her hope in God and prays night and day for God’s help. 6 But the widow who uses her life to please herself is really dead while she is still living. 7 Tell the believers there to do these things so that no one can say they are doing wrong. 8 A believer should take care of his own relatives, especially his own family. If he does not do that, he has turned against the faith. He is worse than a person who does not believe in God.
9 To be on your list of widows, a woman must be 60 years old or older. She must have been faithful to her husband. 10 She must be known as a woman who has done good works. By this, I mean good works such as raising her children, accepting visitors in her home, washing the feet of God’s people, helping those in trouble, and using her life to do all kinds of good deeds.
11 But do not put younger widows on that list. After they give themselves to Christ, they are often pulled away from him by their physical desires. And then they want to marry again. 12 And they will be judged for not doing what they first promised to do. 13 Also, those younger widows begin to waste their time going from house to house. They begin to gossip and busy themselves with other people’s lives. They say things that they should not say. 14 So I want the younger widows to marry, have children, and take care of their homes. If they do this, then no enemy will have any reason to criticize them. 15 But some of the younger widows have already turned away to follow Satan.
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, then she should care for them herself. The church should not have to care for them. Then the church will be able to care for the widows who have no living family.
17 The elders who lead the church well should receive great honor. Those who work hard by speaking and teaching especially should receive great honor. 18 For the Scripture says, “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.”[a] And the Scripture also says, “A worker should be given his pay.”[b]
19 Do not listen to someone who accuses an elder, unless there are two or three other persons who say he did wrong. 20 Tell those who keep on sinning that they are wrong. Do this in front of the whole church so that the others will have a warning.
21 Before God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels, I command you to do these things. Be careful to do them without showing favor to anyone.
22 Think carefully before you lay your hands on[c] anyone for the Lord’s service. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23 Timothy, you stop drinking only water and drink a little wine. This will help your stomach, and you will not be sick so often.
24 The sins of some people are easy to see even before they are judged. But the sins of others are seen only later. 25 So also good deeds are easy to see. But even when they are not easy to see, they cannot stay hidden.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.